Is Hip-Hop Dead?
The poor quality of recent hip-hop releases and those topping the charts have music fans worldwide asking “What the Hell is going on?” It used to be a form of self-expression that finds its roots embedded deep within African culture and oral tradition, but the form is changing. We could blame the artists, but they aren’t entirely at fault. It is the consumer who must be blamed too. With the commercialization of rap music, artistic standards have been lowered in an effort to increase the popularity and in turn, the financial success of an album. And what’s selling right now, for better or worse, are Auto-Tuned tracks.
“Grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding/Everyday I’m grinding/Outlaw, outlaw, outlaw, outlaw, outlaw, outlaw/ Nigger I’m an outlaw” chants Soulja Boy on the chorus of his track “Grinding” off his new mixtape “50/13”. Once you get beyond the shudder-inducing horribleness of it all, the lyrics are quite frankly hilarious. Though, as opposed to laughing with him, we find ourselves laughing at him. Repitition does not, contrary to Mr. Boy’s beliefs, a lyrical genius make. But unfortunately this style of lyricism is what’s populating the airwaves, and the iTunes library of every Justin Bieber-obsessed thirteen-year-old.
What happened to the the poets? The romantics? The artists?
Fear not, fellow hip-hop heads. Though few and far between, there are still a few gems out there in the musicverse. Case in point: Kanye West. Though he receives a lot of criticism for his ornate lifestyle and bad boy behavior, it would be hard to argue that the man is not an artist.
On his most recent release (along with hip-hop heavyweight Jay-Z) “Watch the Throne”, West displays is lyrical abilities on almost every track. Even offering his own comment on gang violence - a particularly sensitive subject. He raps “This is something like the Holocaust/Millions of our people lost.”
And he’s not alone. There is an entire community of socially-conscious, highbrow rappers producing quality work - only, for the most part, no one knows because their work is being buried by the shallow lyricism of artists like Soulja Boy.
Hip-hop grew from poets like Gil Scott Heron, a radical reformer who wished to influence social change through words and ideas, and hopefully, following - as Jay-Z calls for in his track off of “Blueprint 3”, “D.O.A. [Death of Auto-Tune]” the end of Auto-Tune, it will return to its roots.
“Grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding, grinding/Everyday I’m grinding/Outlaw, outlaw, outlaw, outlaw, outlaw, outlaw/ Nigger I’m an outlaw” chants Soulja Boy on the chorus of his track “Grinding” off his new mixtape “50/13”. Once you get beyond the shudder-inducing horribleness of it all, the lyrics are quite frankly hilarious. Though, as opposed to laughing with him, we find ourselves laughing at him. Repitition does not, contrary to Mr. Boy’s beliefs, a lyrical genius make. But unfortunately this style of lyricism is what’s populating the airwaves, and the iTunes library of every Justin Bieber-obsessed thirteen-year-old.
What happened to the the poets? The romantics? The artists?
Fear not, fellow hip-hop heads. Though few and far between, there are still a few gems out there in the musicverse. Case in point: Kanye West. Though he receives a lot of criticism for his ornate lifestyle and bad boy behavior, it would be hard to argue that the man is not an artist.
On his most recent release (along with hip-hop heavyweight Jay-Z) “Watch the Throne”, West displays is lyrical abilities on almost every track. Even offering his own comment on gang violence - a particularly sensitive subject. He raps “This is something like the Holocaust/Millions of our people lost.”
And he’s not alone. There is an entire community of socially-conscious, highbrow rappers producing quality work - only, for the most part, no one knows because their work is being buried by the shallow lyricism of artists like Soulja Boy.
Hip-hop grew from poets like Gil Scott Heron, a radical reformer who wished to influence social change through words and ideas, and hopefully, following - as Jay-Z calls for in his track off of “Blueprint 3”, “D.O.A. [Death of Auto-Tune]” the end of Auto-Tune, it will return to its roots.
